Gold Mountain Golf Club (Olympic Course)

Gold Mountain Golf Club (Olympic Course) – Played May 2015

• Rankings: None of the four lists
• Location: 7263 West Belfair Valley Road, Bremerton, Washington
• Year: 1996
• Architect: John Harbottle III
• Course Access: Public
• Walking Rules: Carts Available

Score Card Information:

• Pro: 7,179 yards, Par 72, 74.8 Rating/139 Slope
• Tourney: 6,505 yards, Par 72, 71.9 Rating/135 Slope
• Player: 6,034 yards, Par 72, 70.0 Rating/126 Slope
• Scoring: 5,607 yards, Par 72, 68.3 Rating/121 Slope
• Forward: 5,220 yards, Par 72, 66.2 Rating/117 Slope

On our last day in the Pacific Northwest we decided to tee it up close to the airport since we had a red-eye flight.  Our best bet was the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club.  So with about 12 hours until our flight we teed it up and headed out for another fun round of golf.

The Gold Mountain Golf Club has 36 holes of municipal golf.  The complex is owned by the City of Bremerton and is located about 30 minutes outside of Seattle.  You can tell you are at a low-key golf course when you drive into the facility.  There is a driving range and a putting green along with a pretty large clubhouse.

The course has hosted some prestigious events including the 2006 US Amateur Public Links Championship, 2008 NCAA Men’s West Regional Golf Championship, and the 2011 US Junior Amateur Championship won by Jordan Spieth.  It also hosts the University of Washington’s Husky Invitational.

In fact I played the course about a week after they played the NCAA Men’s Regional Championship that was won by Paul Dunne’s UAB team.  I actually saw them at the Space Needle.  Little did I know he would play so well at the Open Championship.

Here are a few shots of the clubhouse.  It is not luxurious, but it is comfortable inside and offers all the facilities you need.

We played the Player tees marked with white markers.  All distances are based on those tees.

Hole 1 – 369 yards – Par 4

The course begins with a blind tee shot that needs to be kept on the right side of the fairway since everything slopes left.  The shorter hole does not demand driver.

I was in the left rough and this is the angle you will face from there.

The green is sloped from back to front overall and set diagonal to the fairway.

Hole 2 – 318 yards – Par 4

The second tee shot is pretty short.  You have a couple of options.  Driver can be hit over the bunkers to leave a short shot or a long iron can be played out to the right of the sand and hit a middle iron into the green.

The approach shot plays over two bunkers to a smaller green.  Short left is not a bad miss unlike the right with bunkers and rough.

Here is a wide shot of the green from the left.

Hole 3 – 375 yards – Par 4

The fairway here filters to the middle.  The strategy here is to just hit it up the middle.

The picture is a little blurry, but you can see the idea of the approach.  That bunker is no place to be.

Here is a closer shot of the green.

Hole 4 – 308 yards – Par 4

We haven’t had any long holes yet, but I like the options on these shorter holes.  This one plays longer than the yardage because it is so uphill on the approach.

You can barely see the pin from the fairway.  You just have to trust your yardage and calculation on the effect of the hill.

The green is not very deep and fits a hole where most approaches will be hit with a wedge.

You can see the large trees on this hole.  These were all throughout the course and looked quintessentially PNW to me.

Hole 5 – 115 yards – Par 3 

This is a picturesque par 3.  The green is quite large with multiple pin position options.  It plays downhill slightly.

Here you can see the green contours.

Hole 6 – 479 yards – Par 5

This was a crazy looking tee shot.  I can imagine the view is pretty good when the fog burns off.  The fairway goes down then straight up hill.  A good drive will get to the top of the hill and possibly past that.

After a decent drive the second shot plays straight down the hill.  Any miss to the left will have to avoid the multiple bunkers.

Should you be unable to get to the green this is the shot you will face.  The green is pretty inviting.

Hole 7 – 409 yards – Par 4

This is really the first longer hole we encountered.  It is also one of the tighter landing areas.  A confident swing is needed here with trees bracketing the fairway.

Once you get to the approach there is more trouble in the form of sand.  A nice fade into the green should take most of the bunkers out of play though.

Here is a close shot of the green.  There isn’t a ton going on here.

Hole 8 – 154 yards – Par 3 

This is a great little hole.  The tee box aims you left of the green so picking a target is crucial.  The shot plays just slightly downhill.  Anything missing to the right will be a difficult up and down with the slope running that way.

Hole 9 – 562 yards – Par 5 

This hole plays with my eyes.  I don’t/can’t hit cuts regularly so the bend to the right was intimidating.  Anything long and straight will likely run out of fairway.  A good line is to the bunker you can barely see just left of the tree line on the right side of the fairway.

This is a daring shot should you decide to go for it in two.  It will most likely be blind and there is water right and long.  The best bet would be to get something up the left side and short and let it bound down the hill onto the green.

This is what you are hitting to as seen from the left.  Shots in the near bunker will have to contend with the water beyond.

Hole 10 – 315 yards – Par 4

You have more options on this tee box.  A 200-yard shot will get you to the top of the hill with a wedge in your hand.  I think that’s the best play unless you are a really long hitter.

The green is raised and slightly obscured from view.  The rough-edged bunker guards the front left.  You don’t want to dump one in there.

The green slopes from back to front and is fairly receptive to most shots.  This pin placement provided a good birdie opportunity.

Hole 11 – 521 yards – Par 5

This hole will have most people licking their chops.  It plays shorter than the stated distance and I think our tees were even moved up.  Fight the urge to overswing and you will have a chance to get home in two.

The second shot is uphill, but this bunker is not close to the green.  It is a little deceiving.  You don’t want to miss long.

Hole 12 – 175 yards – Par 3

This one is a steep drop.  It probably played only one club shorter than the yardage.  Those bunkers on the left are nasty so bail right if you’re going to miss.

Hole 13 – 359 yards – Par 4

I didn’t get the tee shot on this hole but did manage to capture the approach.  This should be a shorter shot if you hit a good drive.  The bunkers can make for some fun recovery shots, but if you hit the green you will have a good look at draining the putt.

Hole 14 – 469 yards – Par 5 

This hole sets up well for a fade.  If you can just bust one at the bunkers straightaway you will be in great shape.  No need to overthink this one.

I hit a less than stellar drive and was left with a blind shot to the green.  Make sure you take a look at where you are going.

The bunker and rough pinch down closer to the green so the line on the approach is critical.

Hole 15 – 324 yards – Par 4

I like a blind tee shot every now and again.  I think this fits right into the design as well.  It doesn’t force you to hit driver in case this is your first time playing the course.  A good line is at the yardage stick you can see in the middle.

The real challenge of this hole is the approach shot.  It plays mostly over water and slightly downhill.  I didn’t account for that and ended up in the back bunker.  The middle of the green is a good play here, no need to be a hero.

Here is a shot of the green with the clubhouse in the distance.  Remember that bunker shot?  I got lucky and jarred it!

Hole 16 – 143 yards – Par 3 

This hole reminded me of the 12th at Augusta to some degree.  It’s all carry, but more open at the green.  This pin brings the front bunker into play.

Here is a shot from the right side.  This tree is not as close to the green as it looks.  The green is not very deep as you can see.

Hole 17 – 415 yards – Par 4

This hole was a little funky.  If I remember correctly, driver was not needed because of trouble down the hole.  There is more room out there than it looks however.

The approach plays back up the hill to a deep green guarded by some bunkers well below the putting surface.

The green is quite flat with a shaved area off the back.

Hole 18 – 255 yards – Par 4

The last hole on the Olympic is all about risk-reward.  It is not long at all and plays downhill.  The heavy air can make it play longer though depending on where you hail from.  It is all carry if you go at the green.  The sensible play is to hit a middle iron out to the fairway.

Here is the view if you take the safe route.  You can barely see the top of the flagstick.

Here is the green.  It is plenty big enough to receive a drive so go hunting.

Overall, I had a great time playing the course.  I had some great company which always helps.  The place has a laid back atmosphere and the course doesn’t beat you up.  There were one or two funky holes, but start to finish it was a pretty solid course.  For the money you pay, I though it was a great deal!